NZPhotographer Issue 53, March 2022

What's In The Bag?
with Shaun Barnett
Shaun Barnett, a professional landscape photographer and New Zealand
Photography Workshops tutor gives an insight into what he shoots with, why, and
what else is in his camera bag!
THE CAMERA BAG
I actually have three bags, all Lowepro, which I use
according to what sort of photography trip I’m doing.
For tutoring or photography where I won’t be walking
more than a couple of hours, the Lowepro BP Whistler
450 AW is ideal. It’s sturdy and has lots of space
for lenses which are all easily accessible and well
protected by the generous padding. The only thing I
have to watch out for is putting the bag down when
working coastal scenes, as the tide can sweep in
unexpectedly!
For overnight trips, I use a smaller Lowepro Adventura
SH 160 II. While this bag has less padding and
protection than the Whistler, it can hold a surprising
amount of gear, including my main body and up to
three other lenses, plus it also has a pocket for filters.
One advantage of this style of bag, which has a
shoulder strap, is that everything can be kept at my
waist when I’m working at a coastal or river scene,
where I don’t want to put the bag down. I simply
unzip the flap, pull out whatever lens I want to change
to, and zip it back up.
For trips where I am tramping for multiple days, I use a
Lowepro Nova 2 AW. This holds my camera body, plus
two lenses, and has a pocket large enough for a few
filters. It’s light, easy to sling over a shoulder, and works
well when I want to minimise the amount of weight
I’m carrying. Like the Adventura SH 160 II, it makes
everything accessible at waist height and even has a
pull-out rain cover.
14 March 2022 NZPhotographer